Snorkels...

[utahfish]

Do all of you always use a snorkel when diving? I certainly understand the need especially if shore diving when you have to surface swim a ways out before descent, but for close shore dives? I've seen some who don't, and I'm just curious on your thoughts. I'm conservative of a diver that I doubt I'd dare leave anything behind, but I'm curious what others do/think on the matter.

Second, what is the real difference in more expensive snorkels vs. cheaper snorkels? I guess I just don't understand how there could be much difference. Help a beginner out!

[rayaa3]

I use to wear mine on every dive...now I rarely wear it when little or no surface swimming is planned.

Trouble is the last word...planned. Every once in a while I find that I wish I had mine, when I left it in the bag. I end up on a long surface swim at the end of a dive.

Other than some of the dry snorkel gizmo (which some find useless) I can't tell you the difference between a 50.00 scubapro snorkel and a cheaper one (well, it does say scubapro on the side of it).

[turnpikemike]

I use one of the Mojave ones from Scubatoys. It's just about as cheap as they get, and works really well. I use it a lot because I snorkel a lot when I'm not diving, and if I'm low on air during a shore dive on my way back, I'll just use it instead of wasting air on a surface swim.

[db83]

I'm sure there are differences in construction material. The more expensive ones may be made from sturdier plastic. Then there's the regular snorkels, semi-dry, and the dry snorkels. For the most part, all it needs to be is a tube from your mouth to the surface. Everything else is extra and personal preference.

[petronius]

I rarely wear it any more, although I have it with me on every trip. In my limited (<100 dives) experience, I've found that I prefer to surface swim on my back anyway, and if I need to have my head down (adjusting something, or kelp crawling, for example) I just breathe off the reg for a bit.

I would wear or at least carry a snorkel if I was well offshore, but even our boat dives are a reasonable swimming distance from a shore...

[FoxHound]

I leave my snorkle in my dive bag, dont require it, when im on the surface with dive gear, i swim on my back so a snorkle would be kind of counter productive :P

[Desert_Diver]

I usually have a snorkle with me. It might be in a pocket if I'm swimming overhead enviornments where entanglement is a possibility. But as stated earlier, if I'm going to do a surface swim, I usually roll over on my back and start finning.

Art

[comet24]

I have a snorkel on me when DMing otherwise it's stored dry somewhere. If I see a need because of a certain dive I will bring it along. For many of my dives there are more genitives then positives to having one.

[Chris at Silent World]

Snorkels are for snorkeling not diving

I teach students to plan for enough gas to get them to their seat on the boat. Much better to take your fins of and approach the ladder just slightly underwater or near to it, with your reg still in your mouth. You can see the prop, see the diver in front and see who's still diving below.

If you are shore diving in curaçao however, then yes they can be useful. No need to blow off gas swimming out against the surge. Once under water it should be removed and stowed out of the way

[rongoodman]

I'm taking along a roll-up version for a PADI wreck class next week. I've never worn one outside of a PADI class.